Copyholder



Feb. 8, 1944. D. E. LISTER 2,340,969

COPYHOLDER Filed March 12, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4/ 28 m 3 l 5 e -r 1.

--. INVENTOR. .Doaalci EL 6376/ Patented Feb. 8, 1944 COPYHOLDER Donald E. Lister, Des Plaines, 111., assignor of onehalf to Kenneth Louton and one-half to George ODay, both of Des Plaines, 111.

Application March 12, 1943, Serial No. 478,853

8 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to copyholders and the object of the invention is to produce a new and improved device of this character.

A special object of the invention is a new and improved design and arrangement of parts which enables a copyholder to be made substantially entirely of wood.

The various features of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Fig. 1 is a front view of a copyholder constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the same;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the same;

Fig. 4 is a partial front view, with the sliding front panel assembly removed to expose the operating mechanism; and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the frame of the copyholder includes a base member ID, made preferably of wood, at the right hand end of which there is attached the forwardly extending member II by means of screws, as shown in Fig. 2. The member II is also made preferably of wood, as are most of the other parts. The members l and H rest on the desk where the copyholder is being used, and may be covered with felt on the bottom, as indicated.

The frame also includes the two vertical members l2 and I3, which are received in recesses or mortises cut in the forward edge of member H), where they are secured by screws, as shown in Fig. 1. Near the top the vertical members l2 and 13 are secured together by the cross members 14 and l 5, as seen in Fig. 4. The cross members l4 and I are located behind the members 12 and [3. The vertical members l2 and I3 are grooved as indicated at l6 and I1, Fig. 5, for a purpose to be explained presently.

At the rear the frame is enclosed by a cover, which is of shallow box-like construction, and comprises the back panel I8, the upper end member I9, sides 28 and 2!, and bottom end member 22. The latter rests on the base member it, to

which it may be secured by one or more screws. The sides 20 and 2| may also be secured by screws to the cross member M in order to hold the cover firmly in place.

The frame supports a sliding panel assembly, which will now be described. It comprises a front panel, preferably made of thin veneer or plywood, and indicated at 25, two vertical side members 26 and 21, and a horizontal top member 28. The side members 26 and 21 are recessed to" receive the panel 25, which extends somewhat beyond. the side members at the top. The top member 28 rests on the ends of the side members and is recessed in front to receive the end of panel 25. The parts may be secured together by glue or any suitable means. For additional strength and to give a more finished appearance the triangular members 36 and 31 are provided and are secured to the top member 28 and to the side members 26 and 21.

At the center of the panel 25 and just behind it there is a vertical member 29, of rectangular cross-section, which is secured to the panel and to the top member 28 in a suitable manner.

The sliding panel assembly described aboveis supported on the frame by a tongue and groove construction which will be clearly understood from Fig. 5. The vertical members 26 and 21 are provided with lengthwise extending grooves 30 and 3|, in which the tongues 32 and 33 on members l2 and i3 are received; while the members l2 and 13 have similar grooves, hereinbefore mentioned, in which the tongues 34 and 35 on members 26 and 2! are received. The parts should have an easy fit and the grooves are preferably lubricated with a suitable lubricant.

As will be presently explained, the panel assembly is restored by gravity and since too rapid a descent is undesirable a brake may be provided. As shown in Fig. 5, there is a block inserted behind the vertical member I2 of the frame, and a hole is bored through the member [2 and part way through the block 90. In this hole there is mounted a short cylindrical member SI, of cork or other friction material, and a spring 92 which presses the member 9| against the back of panel 25.

At the right hand end of the top member 28 there is a U-shaped member 38, which is pivotally supported on member 28 by means of a dowel pin 39. The sheet clamping member 40 is rigidly secured to the pivoted member 38 and extends across the front of panel 25. At theleft hand end of the member 28 there is a pivotedmember 4|, somewhat similar to member 38, which is provided for locking the clamping member '40 against the panel 25. The inside edge of clamping member 40, that is, the edge which is adjacent panel 25, may be provided with a layer of felt, as indicated in Fig. 3. It will be understood that the sheet or sheets ofwritten material to be copied are held on panel 25 by clamping member 40.

The member 42 extends across the panel 25 in front of the material to be copied and the edge 43 forms the reading line; The member 42 is ,groovescut in thecross members M and i5.

supported by members 44 and 45, which are pivotally mounted on the members 46 and 41. Members 45 and 41 are rigidly secured to the side members 20 and 2| of the rear cover. Spring washers or other suitable friction means are preferably inserted between members 44 and 45 and members 46 and 41, respectively, so that the horizontal member 42 will remain in place, as shown in Fig. 2. The assembly 42, 44 and 45 may be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction far enough to bring the lower edge of member 42 against the panel 25. In this position the member 42 forms a Shelf on which cards or the .like may be supported.

The operating mechanism, by means of which.

the sliding panel 25 is raised'and lowered, will now be described.

Referring to Fig. 4, the lifting mechanism includes a vertical member 50, of rectangular crosssection, which is slidable in recesses or transverse .At .the .top of .member 50 there is rigidly secured a .cross piece 5|, the twoparts forming a Tshaped assembly. .In Fig. 4 the vertical member .5flis partly covered due to the fact that a part of member 29 .is shown. In actual practice it will be understood that whenthe sliding panel is removed from the frame the member.29, which is part of the sliding panel, is removed also. It is partially shown in Fig. 4 for convenience in eX- plaining the-operation of the mechanism.

The cross piece 5| supports the .two lifting dogs 52 and 53. The two dogs are pivoted on pins 54 and 55, respectively, which are .fixed to cross- =piece -5|. The .dogs are gravity .actuated and have curved .faces which normally engageopposite sides of .the .member 29. The crosspiece 5| also supports theholding i dog releasing :members 55 :and5l, which are rigidly secured .to the crosspiece.

The cross member 14 f the-framesupports the holding dogs58 and B, which are pivotedon pins '50 .and \GI, respectively. .Like the lifting dogs, the holding dogs are gravity actuated and normally engage opposite sides of the member 29.

The reference characters .62 and 63 indicate the lifting dog releasing-members, which are rigidly secured to thecross member 14 of the frame.

The member 50 is operated by means of the lever 65 and -link66. Lever 55 is pivoted-on the vertical frame member 12 and extends outside the cover at-theright through an opening 61, Fig.2. Lever 65 is operated by the hand lever -69, to which itisconnected by the link 68. The-hand lever Ellis pivotedon frame member H at and has a limited movement in each-direction from the normal position in which it is shown.

The spring "H is inserted between the lever 69 and member This'spring acts'as'a stop and normally prevents downwardmovement of the parts 68, 65,55, 5 and 5|. In this connection it will .be noted that the member 50 is freely slidable inthe grooves or guides in .crossmeinbels l4 and i5, and the member 5!) and associated parts wouldaccordinglymove downward Were it not forthe spring I I.

The construction of the improved copyholder having been described, its operation will now be briefly explained. For this purpose it will be assumed that the copyholder is set up on a stenographers .desk, just behind .the typewriter, with the lever-69 extending forwardly at the right hand side of the machine, where it is conveniently accessible tothe stenographer.

The matter to be copied or transcribed, notes or other material, is now secured in the proper position on the panel 25. In order to accomplish this the locking member 4| is rotated to the left, releasing the clamping member 40, which is moved away from the panel far enough to permit the insertion of the material. Preferably the member 42 is also moved forward. One or more sheets containing :notes to be transcribed, for example, may then be placed on the panel with the upper edges of the sheets in position to be clamped by 7 the member 40, which is now moved back against the sheets and locked by means of member 4|. The clamping member 40 is somewhat flexible so that a variable number of sheets can be held.

The member 42 is now moved back against the material on the panel 25, where it is retained by the friction at the pivots.

The stenographer may now proceed to decipher and write down on the typewriter the notes, if any, which appear above the reading .line 43. The next operationis tobringone or more additional .linesof notes into view above the reading line, which is accomplished by raisingthe panel v25 through the medium of the hand 1ever.69.

When the stenographer presses down on the lever 69, the right hand end of lever is raised, by means of link 58, and lever 65 in turn moves the member 55 longitudinally upward by means of link -85, the .member 50 sliding in the transverse grooves or guides in cross members l4 and H3. The crosspiece-5l is movedupward by member -5|], carrying the-lifting dogs 52 and 53 upward also. The curved faces of the lifting dogs at this time rest against opposite sides of the member 29, and the curvature of these faces is such that the tendency of the lifting dogs to rotate on their pivots causesthem-to grip the member 29 and carry it upward, .as .well as :the panel 25 to which it is attached. In;the upward movement of the panel assembly the verticalside memhas .26 and 21 of the panel assembly slide relative to the vertical members l2 and i3 of theframe, and the member 50 moves freely upward between F the holdingdogs 58 and 59.

Whentheendof the hand -laver.69 is released .or restoredthe sliding member-5|] and the crosspiece5 descend by gravityor by the reverseoperation of the lever mechanism, and the lifting dogs 52 and 53 release their grip on the vertical member 29. The member 29 and sliding .panel assembly do notdescend, however, due to the fact that the member 29 is instantly grippedon opposite sides by the holding d0gs58 and59, which hold the-panel assemblyin the'position to which it has been raised, while the lifting mechansm including the lifting dogs moves downward to'get a fresh grip on the member 29.

The range-of movement of-the hand lever 69 is sufficient so that upon depression thereof, as described, the panel and notes thereon to be transcribed may be'raised a distance equal'to the space occupied by about three or four lines, or any lesser distance. As a rule the-stenographer will raise the panel the distance required to expose another line, repeating the operation 'eaoh timeafterthe notes on theline have-been transend of the hand lever, pressed down by the weight of parts 68, 65, 50, etc., is resting at this time on the spring H, but the spring is readily compressible to the extent required to effect the release .of the panel. i

When the hand lever is operated as described, the sliding member 56 and attached crosspiece are lowered from their normal position as shown, and the lifting dogs 52 and 53, sliding freely along the member 29, shortly engage the fixed releasing members 62 and 63. Further lowering of the parts causes the lifting dogs to rotate on their pivots, with the-result that their curved faces are disengaged from the vertical member 28.

Atabout the same time that the lifting dogs engage the releasing members 62 and 63, the releasing members 56 and 51 on the crosspiece 5| engage the outside ends of the holding dogs 58 and 59 and rotate them on their pivots, causing the holding dogs also to become disengaged from the vertical member 29. These operations leave the sliding panel assembly without support and it slides downward on the frame by gravity until it reaches the position in which it is shown in Fig. l. The downward movement is arrested by the engagement of a block of resilient material such as rubber or felt with the base member 10, and accordingly is substantially free from shock or noise. brake 9! previously described.

Another page of notes may now be prepared for transcription, the clamping member 46 being released to permit this to be done, and when the page is exposed and the clamping member 40 has,

been replaced, the stenographer may proceed with the work in the manner described.

It will be understood that the panel is slidable upward on the frame byhand, without use of the line by line lifting mechanism. A pair of stops are provided in order to prevent the panel assembly from being slid clear off the frame. These stops are indicated at 8| and 82 and are mounted on the members 46 and 41, respectively. The stops project forward into the path of blocks 83 and 84 secured to the side members 26 and 21 of the panel assembly. The stops are preferably removable so that the panel assembly can be removed from the frame if it should become necessary to do so. Or the blocks 83 and 84 may be arranged to be removable for this purpose.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have devised a new and improved copyholder, which is economical to manufacture and efiicient in operation. The design of the copyholder is such, moreover, that it may be made almost exclusively of wood, thus dispensing with the use of metals except for certain small parts such as pivots, a few screws, and the spring H.

The invention having been described, that which is believed to be new and for which the protection of Letters Patent is desired will be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a copyholder, a base and upright frame constructed of wood, a copy receiving support slidably mounted on said frame, said support including a thin wooden panel, a rectangular wooden bar mounted on the back of said panel and extending lengthwise of the same, manually operated mechanism mounted on said frame for raising said support step by step, said mechanism including two pivoted wooden dogs having curved faces engaging opposite sides of said bar, holding mechanism comprising two pivoted wooden dogs fhis result is facilitated by the mounted onsaid frame and having curved faces engaging opposite sidesof said bar, and means responsive to the lowering of saidmechanism for disengaging saiddogs from said bar to release said support.

2. In a copyholder, a base and upright frame constructed of wood, a copy receiving support slidably mounted on said frame, said support including a wooden panel and ,a centrally disposed vertical bar attached to'the-back thereof, a sec- -'ond vertical wooden bar slidably supported on said frame behindsaid panel' bar, a cross-piece attached to said second bar at the top thereof, two wooden lifting. dogs pivotally mounted on said cross-piece and adapted to operatively engage opposite sides of said panel bar to raise said support responsive to upward movement of said second bar, two .woodenaholding dogs pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted to operatively engage-opposite sides of said panel bar to prevent lowering of. said support when the said second bar is restored to its former position, and means responsive to the lowering of said second bar beyondrsaid position for disengaging said dogs to release said support.

3. A copyholder .as claimed in claim 2, including a frictionbrake operative on said supportto prevent a too rapid restoration thereof when released. I 1

4. In a copyholder comprising a wooden frame and a wooden panel slidably supported on said frame, mechanism for raising and lowering said panel comprising a vertical wooden bar attached .to the back of. said panel, a second vertical wooden bar slidable on said frame, said frame including a horizontal member having guides for said second bar, a cross-piece attached to said second bar above said frame member, two wooden lifting dogs pivotally supported on said crosspiece and adapted to engage opposite sides of said panel bar to raise said panel responsive to upward movement of said second bar, two wooden holding dogs pivotally mounted on said frame member and adapted to engage opposite sides of said panel bar to prevent lowering of said panel responsive to lowering of said second bar to its antecedent position, two releasing members fixed to said frame member and adapted to engage said lifting dogs to disengage them from said panel bar responsive to lowering of said second bar beyond said position, and two releasing members fixed to said cross-piece and adapted to engage said holding dogs to disengage them from said panel bar responsive to lowering of said second bar beyond said position, whereby said panel is released.

5. In a copyholder, a base and upright frame constructed of wood, a panel slidably mounted on said frame, a vertical bar slidably mounted on said frame, a lever pivoted on said frame and extending parallel to the face of said panel, a link connecting said lever and bar, a hand lever pivoted at one side of said frame and extending forward of said panel at right angles to said first lever, a link connecting said first lever with the rear end of said hand lever, a spring opposing downward movement of said bar, said first lever, and said links to thereby maintain the said hand lever in mid-position, means actuated by said bar responsive to repeated depression and restoration of the free end of said hand lever for raising said panel step by step, means for holding said panel each time the hand lever is restored, and means responsive to raising the free end of said hand lever against the' forceof said "spring for releasingsaid panel-to restore-the same.

6. In a copyholder, a base, an upright frame supported on said base, a copy receiving panel supported on and slidable relative to saidframe,

a rectangular bar secured to the back of said panel and extending lengthwise thereof, a T- shaped member behind said bar and slidably mounted on said frame, manually operated means for reciprocating said T-shaped member, a pair of lifting dogs pivotally mounted on said T- 'shaped member and adapted to grip said bar on opposite sides thereof when the T-shaped member is moved upward, whereby the said panel is raised, a pair of holdingdogs pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted to grip said bar on opposite sides thereof when the T-shaped mema rectangular bar secured to the back of said panel at the center thereof and extending lengthwise of the panel, a second rectangular bar slidably mounted on said frame-behind said first bar,

a cross-piece secured to the second bar at the top thereof, ahand lever -having a normal position, means responsive to operation of said hand lever in one direction from its normal position and to restoration thereof for raising and lowering said second bar, a'pair of lifting dogs pivotally mounted on said cross-piece and adapted to grip said first-bar on-opposite sides-thereof when the second bar is raised, thereby sliding said panel upward on said frame, a pair of holding dogs pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted to grip said first bar on opposite sides thereof to prevent downward movement of the panel when the second bar is lowered by restoration of the hand lever to normal position, and means effective responsive to further lowering of said second bar when the said hand lever is moved in the opposite direction from its normal position to disengage said dogs from said first bar and thereby release said panel.

8. In a copyholder, a base and upright frame constructed of wood, a panel slidably mounted on said frame, a vertical bar slidably mounted on said frame, a leverpivoted on said frame and extending parallel to the face of said panel, means connecting said lever and bar, a hand lever pivoted at one side of said frame and extending forward of said panel at right angles to said first lever, an operative connection between .said first lever and the rear end of said hand lever, the weight of said bar and said first lever tending to rotate said hand lever on its pivot, a spring opposing downward movement of said bar and said first lever to thereby maintain the said hand lever in mid-position, means actuated by said bar responsive to repeated depression and restoration of the free end of said hand lever for raising said panel step by step, means for holding said panel each time the hand lever is restored, and means responsive to raising the free end of said hand lever against the force of said spring for releasing said panel to restore the same.

DONALD E. LISTER. 

